Former Apple exec joins Tellme

Former Apple Computer software chief Avadis "Avie" Tevanian has joined the Board of Directors of Tellme, a Mountain View, Calif technology company that operates the world's largest Internet application network for telephone calls.

"Avie's expertise in building products that consumers love is core to what we do," said Mike McCue, Tellme CEO and co-founder. "He is a fantastic addition to Tellme's Board and will help guide our technology team on both product and platform development."

Some of the applications running on Tellme's network include customer service for Merrill Lynch, E*TRADE and American Airlines, directory assistance for Cingular and Verizon and e-commerce services for Amazon.com and Fandango.

Tevanian — whose appointment to the Tellme Board is effective immediately — is a widely recognized technical leader, having spent decades developing software platforms. He was one of the principle engineers for the Mach OS kernel at Carnegie Mellon, and later led efforts to create NeXT's innovative NEXTSTEP operating system before moving on to Apple and taking the reigns of Mac OS X.

"Tellme is set to revolutionize how every consumer uses a telephone based on its Internet-based open platform, which is accessible from any phone," Tevanian said. "I'm excited to be working with the Tellme team on the tremendous opportunities before us."

I used TellMe when it first came out as a free service before the dot com implosion. It was moderately successful (for me anyway) as a free service with voice interface for checking on movie times, stock quotes and traffic info.

They never really built out their functionality very far, but I guess they've had to shift focus since those early days to survive.

Originally posted by SpamSandwichI used TellMe when it first came out as a free service before the dot com implosion. It was moderately successful (for me anyway) as a free service with voice interface for checking on movie times, stock quotes and traffic info.

They never really built out their functionality very far, but I guess they've had to shift focus since those early days to survive.

i still use this to get sports scores and other news when i am out. now they focus on selling thier services (toll free directory assistance, airline schedules, etc.) but it is a very cool idea.

Man, I hate to think the Mac OS W rumors may be true, but this _could_ be another hint in that direction (ie, the OS X old guard splitting). This isn't the only possible hint at this direction as of late: intel switch, rumors of new kernal, bootcamp tryout, etc.

I doubt OS W is for real, but lately Apple has been one suprise move after another.